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A Kunoichi At Heart by Chloryl

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Chapter notes: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

"I'm so sorry!" you cried apologetically as you collided headfirst into a tall man wearing the standard Konohagakure flak jacket. You backed away, feeling thoroughly embarrassed by your blunder.

"Don't worry about it," the man said, coughing. He had dark brown hair and he wore his forehead protector like a bandanna around his head. His most prominent feature, and one of the first things you noticed about his appearance was the dark bags under his eyes.

"Hey, you look familiar!" you blurted out, before turning slightly pink at your unexpected outburst. He gave you a wry smile.

"Do I?"

You squinted at him and shrugged slightly. There was something about his face that made you think you've seen him before, somewhere.

"You must be [Name]," he said, coughing again.

Your eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Your sensei sent for me," he explained. "I'm Gekkou Hayate."

"Nice to meet you," you said hesitantly, feeling uncomfortable. "Why did Asuma-sensei send you here for?"

Hayate gave another racking cough, and you wondered if he was ill. Come to think if it, he looked a little pale, like he was sick. And dark circles under the eyes were never a good sign. "He asked me for a favour. Instead of embarking on that D-ranked mission tomorrow, Asuma wants you to train."

"Train?" you echoed, confused.

He nodded. "More specifically, he wants you to learn the art of kenjutsu. He believes it will be good practise for you."

"Swords?" you asked, your eyes growing wide.

"Yes," he confirmed, a small smile creeping on his face.

"Cool!" you exclaimed, clapping your hands together like a small child promised a treat. Hayate looked troubled by your unbridled enthusiasm, but didn't bother to comment. He probably thought you were a little crazy, you decided.

-:-

An hour later, you were crouching on a large rock, trying to balance a katana vertically on your palm.

"I still don't get why I have to do this," you muttered, shooting Hayate a reproachful glare.

"The objective of this activity is to learn how to infuse your weapons with chakra. The mere action of wielding a sword won't do much in the long run," he countered, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine." You went back to concentrating a thin, sharp flow of chakra into the tip of the blade while simultaneously trying to keep the katana from wobbling too badly with a second stream of chakra. Hayate leaned casually against the rock, watching you practise. Your arms soon grew sore, and you wished that you were on the mission with the rest of your team. Why did Asuma-sensei want you to go through this training instead?

"Um, Hayate…sensei?" you called, cautiously testing the honorific on your tongue.

"Yes?"

"Why did Asuma-sensei ask you to train me in kenjutsu? I thought we were supposed to be going on a mission today." You lost your focus momentarily, and the katana slipped from your chakra-suffused hold and clattered noisily to the ground.

"Careful, [Name]," he scolded, picking up the sword and handing to you. "The rest of your squad have techniques passed down from generations of their clan members. Asuma noted that, as you do not, you need to find yourself a useful skill in order to be an asset to your team."

Wide-eyed, you nodded mutely.

"He told me that there were a variety of fighting styles you could be potentially suited to. But it was something you said that gave him the inspiration to choose kenjutsu for you."

Your eyes widened. You remembered.

"How silly of me, I thought they were as big as swords!"

"When I thought Asuma-sensei's trench knives were the size of swords," you realized, gripping the katana tightly in your fist.

Hayate nodded, coughing. "It wasn't much of a lead, but he was running out of ideas. It's difficult to choose a shinobi's path for them, especially as a young genin with so much potential. Asuma thought it could be a start."

"I see," you replied. "Alright, then I won't let him down." Setting the katana upright on your outstretched palm, you carried on imbuing a steady stream of your chakra into the blade.

"I admire your spirit," he said, smiling. "Determination like this won't go unrewarded."

You grimaced as your hand began to tremble from effort of holding the heavy sword perpendicular to the ground for so long. Finally after what seemed like several more hours, Hayate finally advised you to stop before the katana consumed all your chakra.

"Gah, my arms," you groaned, giving your stiff and aching limbs an experimental twitch.

"Take the rest of the day off," Hayate suggested, giving you a concerned glance. "Tomorrow, we'll practise actual combat."

You tried to give the katana back to him, but your arms were shaking so much that you were worried you would accidentally hurt him. Instead of handing it to him directly, you placed the sword by Hayate's feet.

"Thanks, sensei," you said, jumping off the rock.

"Asuma wants you to meet him at Yakiniku Q," he instructed, taking the katana in his palm.

"Oh, okay!" You were planning to head home to take a long, relaxing shower, but it could wait. "I'm on to it."

-:-

"[Name], you lucky girl," Ino said enviously, giving you a good-natured glare. "Why did Asuma-sensei let you skip the mission?"

"Hey, I had to do training!" you protested, laughing. "I wish I could've gone on the mission instead."

"Are you kidding?" Shikamaru asked, as Chouji nodded his head vigorously. "That mission was such a drag, even for just a D-rank one."

"It was still a mission though," you said, your eyes sparkling. "So tell me, how did it go?"

Ino gave you a disbelieving look. "Honestly, [Name]. You should know by now that the three of us rarely agree on anything, right guys?" Shikamaru and Chouji nodded fervently and you stifled a giggle at the irony of her words. "Look here, we had to sort some store's merchandise in alphabetical order, and the shop owner made us do it four times because she claimed we weren't doing it properly."

"Was your training as bad as that?" Shikamaru eyed you sceptically.

"Well, no," you said defensively. Ino gave you a smug I-told-you-so look. "But I wanted to be part of our first mission, that's all."

"So how was it, your training?" Chouji asked curiously.

You shrugged. "Hayate-sensei made me balance a sword in my hand with chakra. It was boring, not to mention painful. But tomorrow should be more interesting."

"Hayate?" Shikamaru asked, perking up. "Gekkou Hayate?"

You contemplated for a moment, trying to remember if that had indeed been his last name. "I think so. Why?"

"He's one of Konoha's most talented kenjutsu masters," Shikamaru explained. "And from what I've heard, he's going to be proctoring one of the stages of the Chuunin exams this year."

"You're so lucky!" Ino sighed dreamily. "You get to train under some powerful sensei like that? And he could even give you tips on what to expect for the exams. Geez, I wish Asuma-sensei'd let me do that."

Asuma laughed. "Keep in mind, you do have your clan's mind-controlling techniques at your disposal. Would you rather give that up and endure the gruelling training regime that [Name] is going to have to put up with? Besides, Hayate is sworn to secrecy," he added, his eyes glinting.

Ino sniffed, but didn't reply. Just then, a waitress arrived with a platter of meat and vegetables.

"Food!" Chouji cried happily, whipping a pair of chopsticks into his hand.

"Great," Ino muttered, giving the meat a disgruntled glance.

"Let us celebrate the success of our mission!" Asuma declared, giving his irritated-looking team an amused glance. "And the success of [Name]'s training!"

"Hear, hear," Shikamaru grumbled sarcastically.

"Delicious!" Chouji mumbled, his mouth full of barbequed pork.

-:-

The next day, you went to the clearing where Hayate had instructed you to meet him.

"Good, you're here," he said, relieved. He handed you the katana and pulled out his own, which was longer and tapered at the point. He unsheathed his and indicated that you should do the same.

"Now, let us spar," he said, coughing.

"Spar?" you squeaked, giving the razor-sharp blade an apprehensive look. "But isn't that a bit dangerous?"

"I won't injure you," Hayate promised. "And I doubt you'll be able to lay a scratch on me just yet."

He shifted his weight and got into position, prompting you to follow. You weighed the katana in your hands and swung it experimentally a few times.

"Ready?" he asked. You nodded and lunged at him with the sword outstretched. Hayate sidestepped with such speed that you drove your katana into the ground by mistake. Yanking it out, you tried again.

"You're missing an important component of this training exercise," he called as you attempted to pull your sword out of a tree trunk. "Remember what you learned yesterday?"

"Chakra!" you gasped in realization. You closed your eyes, focusing a stream of chakra into your blade, but Hayate knocked it out of your grip at once, disrupting your concentration.

"Hey!" you complained, opening your eyes and shooting him a look.

"Sorry, but you need to realize that on the battlefield, your opponent is not going to give you time to focus your chakra. You need to do it quickly, or at the same time as you swing your sword."

You picked it up from the ground and swung it at him, trying to simultaneously imbue the blade with chakra. The edge flickered faintly with pale blue light, then died abruptly as your sword met Hayate's in a deafening clang.

"You need to keep it up, especially during an attack," he scolded, giving a soft cough. "What good will it do if you stop your chakra flow whenever your blade hits mine?"

Your head drooped, and you gave him a small nod.

"Now try again," he instructed. "Practise your chakra imbuement until it's as natural as breathing."

Hayate swung his katana in a half-circle, catching yours with the powerful momentum. Your sword was wrenched from your grip and clattered to the ground. You picked it up, sending a stream of chakra into the metal and holding the handle as tightly as you could to avoid dropping it again. He manoeuvred his katana, changing its direction as you tried to move out of the way. You tensed, bringing yours upwards just in time to feebly block an incoming blow.

"Chakra," he reminded you.

"Got it." You gritted your teeth, trying to free your blade and infuse it with chakra at the same time.

-:-

Hayate glanced at the reddish sky, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. "It's getting late. Let's head back."

"Okay," you agreed amiably, sheathing your katana.

"You're improving at an incredible rate," he praised, taking it from your hands. "If you continue like this, with any luck, you'll be able to return to your team and perform missions."

"Great!" you said cheerfully.

"Though you're going to have to train extra hard," he warned you. "Meet me here again tomorrow and every day at 5 AM, got it?"

"What…?!"

Go to Chapter 69.

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